Bild på författaren.

John David Anderson (1) (1975–)

Författare till Ms. Bixby's Last Day

För andra författare vid namn John David Anderson, se särskiljningssidan.

10 verk 1,685 medlemmar 81 recensioner

Om författaren

Foto taget av: Author John David Anderson at the 2016 Texas Book Festival. By Larry D. Moore, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53090008

Serier

Verk av John David Anderson

Ms. Bixby's Last Day (2016) 491 exemplar
Posted (2017) 384 exemplar
Sidekicked (2013) 221 exemplar
Granted (2018) 214 exemplar
Finding Orion (2019) 87 exemplar
Standard Hero Behavior (2007) 84 exemplar
Minion (2014) 79 exemplar
Stowaway (2021) 61 exemplar
The Dungeoneers (2015) 37 exemplar
Insert Coin to Continue (2016) 27 exemplar

Taggad

Allmänna fakta

Namn enligt folkbokföringen
Anderson, John David
Födelsedag
1975
Kön
male
Nationalitet
USA
Födelseort
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Medlemmar

Recensioner

Bryan Biggins- small stature, freckled face, bully-target- attends middle school by day. His alter ego, Kieran Nightstalker- level-fifty, dark-elf hero- fights dragons and blasts bad guys in Sovereign of Darkness by night. Bryan plays night after night with one goal in mind- to beat the game so he can unlock the secret bonus level. The night Bryan succeeds, his computer crashes. Totally fried! When his alarm clock wakes him in the morning, he sees a blue hologram hanging in the air over the clock- “Insert Coin to Continue.” Bryan’s legs won’t move. They look like two blocks of wood under the covers. Then, the hologram begins to blink, and numbers below it start a countdown. Luckily, there’s a small pile of coins on his nightstand. Bryan drops a quarter in the slot. The hologram disappears along with Bryan’s paralysis. Thus begins life as video game. He has to solve complex math problems before they fall down the blackboard and disappear. In English, the teacher chooses Bryan to read Romeo’s lines. Unfortunately, the game inserts multiple choice situations in blue. Bryan must answer them correctly to see Romeo’s real lines typed on the pages. Then, the math teacher sends him on a quest into the heavily guarded teacher’s lounge. The prize? A Twinkie from the vending machine. Bryan has to elude the dreaded hall monitor and brave the school’s boiler room to rescue the science teacher’s mouse. Along the way, he gains experience points, loses hit points, and moves up levels. Several times, he must insert a coin to continue. Before he can win the game, Bryan has to fight the school’s bully and win the favor of the school’s princess.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
kathymariemax | 2 andra recensioner | Feb 5, 2024 |
Best friends Christopher (Topher), Steve, and Brand know that there are six types of teachers- the ancient, brain-eating Zombies, the caffeine addicted Caff-Adds, the no-fun, no-talking Dungeon Masters, the daily educational movie showing Spielbergs, the idealistic, overachieving Noobs, and the Good Ones. When Topher, Brand and Steve started sixth grade, they knew that Ms. Bixby was a Good One. Topher met Ms. Bixby three years before sixth grade when she was working as a circus juggler. When he asked her to teach him, she told him that she would teach him something is a few years. The boys love having Ms. Bixby as their teacher, but their year with her ends early when she announces that she has pancreatic cancer. She tells the class on a Tuesday and says that her last day at school would be a week from Friday. Steve remembers looking outside at the rain pouring down. On Monday, the students find a substitute sitting at Ms. Bixby’s desk. Ms. Bixby was in the hospital and wouldn’t be coming back. No goodbyes. No going away party. That’s when the boys hatch the plan- cut class, take a bus to the hospital, and spend one more “perfect” day with their favorite teacher. As Topher, Steve, and Brand collect each ingredient for the picnic- a cheesecake, a bottle of wine, a bag of McDonald’s fries, and The Hobbit so they can finish reading it with her, they each share the events of the day and Ms. Bixby’s positive impact on their lives.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
kathymariemax | 28 andra recensioner | Feb 5, 2024 |
Well, this made me bawl my eyes out. So I have to give it five stars.

Topher, Steve and Brand are sixth graders. They're the target of bullies, but they're also resilient and fun dudes. Topher is an artist with a wild imagination. Steve is a little like Spock, super logical and intelligent. Brand thinks there's nothing special about him, but the fact that his dad is disabled means Brand has taken on a lot of adult responsibilities, making him especially determined and capable.

These three friends each tell part of the story in turn. They go on a kind of quest to see their teacher Ms. Bixby in the hospital. It is, of course, part adventure and part comedy of errors. They have to skip school, take a bus into the city, and procure certain items, at least one of which is illegal for minors to purchase.

The heart of this story is each boy's connection to Ms. Bixby. She is a Cool Teacher (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CoolTeacher) but it doesn't play like a stereotype. She gives each of these three boys what they need and they want to give her something back in her time of need.

Like [b:The Great American Whatever|25663382|The Great American Whatever|Tim Federle|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1433439493s/25663382.jpg|45486309], this manages to be both funny and heartbreaking, which is a winning combination like salty and sweet or comfortable and stylish. A perfect book for a 6th grader, just edgy enough not to be babyish (there's a little bit of swearing and just a touch of risque) but not beyond what an average preteen can handle.

There are allusions to great poetry, music and literature (you'll probably want to read or re-read The Hobbit after this and go look up Walt Whitman), which is a hallmark of the Cool Teacher. She turns you on to cool stuff.

Is it a drawback that Steve's character calls on a certain Asian-American stereotype? He has tiger parents and a perfect sister who's a pianist. In popular culture Asian people tend to be portrayed as logical, good at math, and socially reserved like Steve. But Steve is a well-developed character with a rich inner life. He is not just a series of stereotypical traits. Maybe his parents are, though. I'm not sure where I ultimately come down on this but I mention it because I'm sure there are readers who are tired of seeing this stereotypical set of attributes. But I did love Steve. To get into spoiler territory: I thought there was a subtle implication that Steve is gay and feels more than just friendship for Topher. That definitely shades his character, right? To be 12 and dealing with an attraction to your straight BFF? That would explain being reserved in how you express your emotions. And I liked what the author did with Steve's relationship with his sister.

So there you have it. Read with tissues at the ready.
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
LibrarianDest | 28 andra recensioner | Jan 3, 2024 |
* I got this book for review for the publisher*

I really adored this read. I love how John crafted the fairy world and made it some complex but also so easy to understand. I love how the book to read was a pure joy. I loved the fast pace element of the novel. I really had a hard time putting this book down. I thought this book had some predictable moments but overall this book was pure magic. I really loved the main character and also all the side characters just put a smile on my face. I would def read more by this author in the future!… (mer)
 
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lmauro123 | 8 andra recensioner | Dec 28, 2023 |

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Statistik

Verk
10
Medlemmar
1,685
Popularitet
#15,261
Betyg
4.1
Recensioner
81
ISBN
204
Språk
4

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